I have never been a big fan of broad beans until the last four years! I always thought that cooked broad beans have an unpleasant taste; I was mistaken though. Broad beans have a very tasty flavor. I almost know four to five dishes can be prepared from fresh green broad beans. However, as I am very fond of broad beans I try to add them to plenty of recipes!

Upside down or Maqloobah, in Arabic, is very common in Palestine and Jordan. However, broad beans Maqloobah is very common in spring as it’s the season of broad beans. A lot of people freeze broad beans in the season to prepare several delicious meals during winter and autumn. I froze three meals of broad beans recently; I might freeze more if I had more beans :p

You can prepare this dish with either meat or chicken. However, this would be an ideal meal for vegetarians by cooking the broad beans with rice; you can substitute the meat stock with broth or boiling water. Water won’t give the same taste as the stock, but will still taste great. I usually add water when I want to have a meat free meal.

1- Add small amount of vegetable oil to a cooking pot, add the chopped onion and cook until tender. Add the diced meat, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, half Tbsp of cumin, black peppercorn, cardamom pods and water and let the meat cook. Add the salt when the meat is about to be cooked. When the meat is cooked, strain the stock and keep it aside.

2- Wash the rice, add 1 tsp of cumin and curcuma and soak it for 20 minutes.

3- Wash the broad beans very well and cut them into small pieces. You can pod them if you don’t like to eat the green pod. If you can’t find them fresh you can use frozen ones or start thinking of having your own garden!

4- Add 3 Tbsp of vegetable oil to a cooking pot. Add the grated onion and then the broad beans. Sprinkle some cumin on top of them and cook them till they change in color. Then, add two cups of the meat stock you already prepared and let the beans cook for few minutes or until tender.

5- Add the meat and the rice to the same cooking pot.

6- Bring to boil, and then lower the heat for about 20 minutes or until the rice is cooked.